Eat Drink KL

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Pokok, PJ MAHSA University

The Glasshouse Effect: Surrounded by trees and swathed in sunshine, Pokok is a budding contender for one of PJ's loveliest cafes, a suburban sanctuary that soothes and satiates.

Pokok's crowd-pleasers come prepared fresh from the kitchen: From the East, the Nasi Lemak hits fragrant notes, with the rice and the sambal proving the highlights of the platter (RM18); from the West, the Smoked Salmon Benedict is buoyed by an entire ensemble of nutritionally balanced components, with vegetables showcasing more spring and sprightliness than expected (RM25). And for the best of both worlds, the Cili Padi Pesto Pasta (try saying that five times fast) brings a bit of extra heat to the elegantly textured basil blend (RM25).

Desserts and drinks display encouraging evidence of effort too, from Nutella marble cakes to Waka Waka Gelato, which comes in deliciously distinctive flavours like Salted Egg Yolk and Maha-Teh (or Hojicha). To combat these humid evenings, round out your order with the Down Under, a cross between an iced latte and an affogato.

Pokok
MAHSA Universiti, Jalan Universiti Campus, Jalan Elmu, Off Jalan Universiti, Petaling Jaya, 59100 Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 9am-6pm.

This feature first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Check out the new Eat Drink KL official Facebook & Instagram pages. Follow us for the freshest updates, fun contests & more, at:

Facebook: facebook.com/eatdrinkkl

Instagram: instagram.com/eatdrinkklcom

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits. Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/5106C196432BB23D

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Hai Qiu Bentong Rojak Mee, Gamuda Walk

Hai Qiu's gastronomic heritage spans three generations, stretching back to 1954 in Pahang's Bentong town. Spreading its wings to Kota Kemuning's Gamuda Walk mall this year, family fare forms the foundation of this brand's flagship Rojak Mee, well-balanced in its house-made sweet sauce, nicely textured with cucumbers, fried crackers, tofu and egg (RM8.90), and Curry Mee, rich and savoury, rounded out with pork tendon balls, tau fu pok and fu chuk (RM12.90), both the result of Grandpa and Grandma's recipes. Wash down with a classic cendol, complete with cincau, corn, red beans and evaporated milk (RM6).

Hai Qiu Bentong Rojak Mee

L1-05, Level 1, Gamuda Walk, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla 31/99, Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam, Malaysia. Daily, 10am-10pm.

This feature first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Check out the new Eat Drink KL official Facebook & Instagram pages. Follow us for the freshest updates, fun contests & more, at:

Facebook: facebook.com/eatdrinkkl

Instagram: instagram.com/eatdrinkklcom

Caffe Torino @ Turin, Italy

When truffle season surfaces in October and November each year, Turin's residents flock to restaurants like Caffe Torino for soulful pasta and risotto served with shaved white truffles - Turin (the capital of Italy's Piedmont region) is less than 60 kilometres from Alba, where some of the world's most revered truffles are harvested; pair perhaps with a Piedmontese Barolo wine. Turin is also at the heart of Italy's chocolate-making heritage, so be sure to indulge in some.

Friday, October 26, 2018

Catcher In The Rye, Petaling Jaya

J.D. Salinger's classic novel of teenage angst and alienation might seem an improbable inspiration for a cafe that exudes grace and geniality - but it shouldn't be a surprise that the founders of Taman Desa's Wild Sheep Chase, named partly for a Haruki Murakami masterwork, have summoned up another literary influence for their second venue (bonus connection: Murakami translated Salinger's book into Japanese in the 2000s). Unfurling this month in a decades-old shop-house in PJ's Section 17, Catcher In The Rye is a charmer, basking in a sun-bathed, white-washed space speckled with wood and leaves.

Come for comfort carbs coupled with pleasurable protein: Crisply deep-fried mac-and-cheese makes for a you-deserve-it indulgence with sunny-side-up eggs, punched up with pomodoro sauce and plum salsa, both buoyantly uplifting (RM20), while rosti prepared with sweet potatoes provides for a scrumptious twist to the typical Swiss fritter, rounded out with crunchy-tender chicken thigh, creamy-tasty guacamole and garlic baby kailan (RM24).

Wild Sheep Chase is perhaps best known for its souffles, but Catcher In The Rye adds another element to its desserts - house-made ice cream in gentle flavours like chrysanthemum (as well existing sorbets, such as grapefruit or honeydew), to complement the flagship Earl Grey souffle (RM18). The Chase-Catcher team can consistently be counted on for coffee too; alternatively, sip on hot milk with spoonfuls of longan fruit to be found in each cup. The Salinger-suitable soundtrack here swings from Billie Holiday to The Beatles, capturing the mood of the fifties and sixties.